Mixed reactions.

Liam was conflicted. The movie had concluded. It had been everything he'd hoped, but he wasn't able to join in fully with the rapturous feeling amongst the other attendees. More than once, he had caught his filmgoing companion checking her phone, the Huawei laid out on her track panted leg. He'd tried to ignore this, but he'd even caught her tapping out a message as Michael and Milo Morbius had squared off in the subway.

Biting his tongue, Liam had been able to put Niamh's inconsiderate behaviour aside until the end credits, when she made to leave.

"What are you doing?" he hissed, catching her by the wrist.

"Movie's over." Niamh responded, louder than him, drawing a few eyeballs to them.

"Don't you know anything?" Liam said. "What about the post-credits scenes?"

"Fine." Niamh said, settling back down into her seat.

After enjoying both of the movie's edifying post-credits scene, Liam joined the rest of the audience (sans Niamh) in applauding the movie, then made for the exit.

Despite the post-movie high, Liam felt thrown off. It wasn't meant to be like this at all. When he'd made that Craigslist post, he'd expected to attract a female who was every bit the Morbius fan he was. But this woman... this woman, he doubted she even liked the SPUMC at all!

"Jaysus, I've seen some shitty movies in my time, but that has to take the cake." Niamh said, following him out of the cinema.

"You've... what?" Liam stammered. Her words hit him like a bucket of ice water, rendered even more loathsome by that idiotic accent.

"The state of Jared Leto." she smirked. "At least in House of Gucci, it was kinda supposed to be funny."

"You... you can't-" Liam wanted to scream. He felt like Niamh had driven her fist into his stomach.

"Can't what? I thought you were seeing this a bit, all that stuff before, call me Severin and that. You were serious then?" the woman asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

"You're goddamn right I was serious. I don't joke about cinema, and I don't joke about Morbius." Liam said, feeling the fire of righteous indignation building up inside him.

"I saw how distracted you were during the movie. And the fact that you were texting, instead of being on the edge of your seat, tells me you don't know the first thing about cinema, or the Marvel Universe. I mean, the connections that were established tonight, the plots set in motion, come on!" Liam said, putting a raspy snarl into his voice, worthy of Dr. Michael Morbius himself. "You should be ashamed, not just that you've put a damper on my night, but that you've deprived some other worthier female of a chance to see Morbius in the format it was intended. Shame on you."

Nearby, an usher sauntered closer.

"Miss, is everything alright here?" the employee, a "plus sized" Asian woman said, the concern evident on her face. Liam steeled himself for whatever was to come. It had been liberating, his outburst, telling that bitch exactly what he thought of her lack of movie knowledge.

Instead, Niamh waved her away, told her it was fine, with something like satisfaction momentarily playing over her features.

"I'm impressed, I have to admit." Niamh said, taking a step closer. "This passion you have for superhero movies, it's... kind of hot, not gonna lie."

"Why don't we go somewhere, have a few more drinks, and you can explain to me exactly what I was missing." Niamh suggested.

Liam tried not to blush as the ahegao-shirted Irishwoman flirtatiously stroked his chest.

"A few... more drinks?" Liam said, seizing on something, anything, to avoid tenting up too much. It had been... a little while, since he'd been out with a female not related to him.

"You're not telling me you saw that sober, are ya?" Niamh asked, producing an empty Smirnoff miniature from the pocket of her Adidases.

"I did." Liam admitted.

"But you grew up in Concord, right?" Niamh asked. "You must know a couple of good bars, huh?"